Hanwha Vision Empowers Kirkland’s Loss Prevention Team with Next Generation Surveillance Capabilities

“The wide-angle capability – as well as the quality of the camera – is really what sold us on Hanwha. We are getting the best views possible and they are allowing us to see the entire sales floor which is exactly what we wanted and needed.”

— Saraya Charlton, Kirkland’s Loss Prevention Investigator

♦ Challenge

Protecting assets and people has always been a top priority for Kirkland’s, a global home décor retailer. With over 400 stores in 37 states, Kirkland’s is a go-to spot for a broad selection of distinctive merchandise: art, mirrors, candles, lamps, frames, accent rugs, furniture and more.

When they evaluated their security solutions in 2016, they determined they needed to upgrade the analog video surveillance systems in use at their existing locations and plan for new stores. Kirkland’s wanted an IP-based solution that could be accessed remotely, that would make the loss prevention investigation process more efficient, and would provide additional benefits. Management wanted a camera that provided a clear picture, while minimizing bandwidth usage and had analytics capability.

♦ Solution
Kirkland’s chose to deploy an IP video surveillance solution consisting of Hanwha video surveillance cameras managed by Salient enterprise Video Management Software (VMS).

The first phase of the security upgrade has included the deployment of 1,800 Hanwha Wisenet X series XNV-6011 2 megapixel HD dome cameras and Wisenet Lite vandal-resistant dome cameras at 200 Kirkland’s locations, as well as the distribution center and the e-commerce building. As new stores are built by this growing retailer, they will also include the Hanwha-Salient security solution. They expect to have a full migration to IP at all locations by 2021.

Each Kirkland’s location is outfitted with approximately eight cameras that are positioned to capture the entrance, the sales floor and the back of house operations. Charlton said Hanwha’s cameras provide the most comprehensive view of the store possible.

♦ Result

The Hanwha-Salient solution has improved Kirkland’s loss prevention investigation efficiency since the team is able to pull recorded video from any camera via the Salient VMS rather than wait for information to be extracted from an analog DVR. They also appreciate being able to use Hanwha’s Device Manager to troubleshoot and resolve any camera issues remotely first rather than unnecessarily sending out a service technician.

In addition to offering quality images, improved field of view and more efficient operations, the Hanwha solution has also helped Kirkland’s conserve valuable bandwidth with Hanwha WiseStream II compression technology, said Charlton. WiseStream II dynamically controls encoding, balancing quality and compression according to movement of the image. Combined with H.265 compression, bandwidth efficiency can be improved by up to 75 percent compared to current H.264 technology.